The present invention relates to a new and improved surgical drape with a fluid collection system. More specifically, the drape of the present invention is fenestrated and has a reversibly-attachable fluid collection pouch which may be selectively secured to either side of the fenestration. The reversibility of the pouch allows the surgical team to adapt the drape for use on either side of the fenestration.
Surgical drapes with fenestrations are well known in the art. Many such drapes are often used in surgical procedures where fairly large amounts of body fluids or irrigation liquids are emitted from the fenestrated operating site. Numerous means have been developed to absorb, retain and/or collect such fluids. Early surgical procedures often involved the use of absorbent towels to square off the operating site. These towels would in turn act to absorb fluids. Gradually, the designs were improved to include absorbent materials built into the drape itself, including such materials as foam located about the fenestration. When large amounts of fluid were being used or emitted from the incision area, bags and other types of drainage apparatus were employed to channel, collect or drain the fluids away from the operating site. Examples of such systems can be found in neurological, obstetrical (c-section) and orthopedic (arthroscopy) drapes.
Many of today's surgical drapes are customized to be compatible with specific procedures such as neurological, obstetric, orthopedic, cardiovascular and opthamic procedures. Several procedures such as eye, abdominal, limb and back surgery may be performed on either the right- or the left-hand side of the body, depending upon the ailment or injury. As a result, many of these customized drapes must be stocked in either right-handed or left-handed models to accommodate the specific procedure or else a more expansive cumbersome design must be used to cover all options. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a surgical drape design which will reduce the need for such duplicate stock.
Another reason for the need to inventory both left- and right-handed stock is the fact that certain operating room designs, as well as the preferences of certain surgeons, dictate that a procedure be performed from either the left or the right side of the patient. Consequently, there is a further need for surgical drape designs which are more universal in their application.
Certain surgical drapes, such as Collins (U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,382), disclose surgical drapes for abdominal surgery with pouches on either side of the incision area. Typically, however, to the extent possible fluid will be directed to the pouch on the side of the table opposite the surgeon. This is because during the procedure the surgeon will oftentimes lean up against the side of the operating table in which case contact with the fluid-filled pouch on the surgeon's side of the table may cause the pouch to collapse, thereby causing the fluid to run out over the surgeon and the operating floor. This provides potentially hazardous situations due to slipping, electrical shock and infection. Conversely, certain ophthalmic drapes, such as the Surgikos Phaco extracapular pack #1226 by the Johnson and Johnson Company, provide a fluid collection pouch in the surgical pack which is initially detached from the surgical drape. Once the drape is in place, the pouch is attached to the drape in close proximity to the fenestration on either the right- or left-hand side of the drape. Having the pouch initially detached from the drape is not a desirable feature to some operating room personnel as it increases the number of items which must be accounted for at the end of the surgical procedure. The present invention is an improvement over the above-discussed surgical drape design, in that it provides an attached fluid collection pouch which may be selectively pivoted and adhered to either side of the fenestration. This feature also provides improved turn around time in high volume procedures such as opthalmic surgeries. A further understanding of the present invention may be gained from a more detailed review of the following specification, drawings and claims.